Golfing target including freely hanging sheets and ball-collecting receptacle

ABSTRACT

A game played with a golf ball for practice to increase the accuracy in direction of the player in hitting the ball, comprising a vertical target which may be made of polyvinyl chloride closed-cell sponge sheet material that is shock absorbent and from which there will be no rebound of the ball, the ball falling dead downwardly along the surface of the target upon striking the target. A detachable return runway for the ball, made of the same material to prevent any bouncing of the ball upon dropping into the runway, is provided at the lower end of the target, inclined toward a receptacle for the ball. The target may be defined by three freely hanging detachable sheets, the center one of which has an opening representing a golf cup, and has a foldable frame to permit ready transportation of the target from place to place. A signal is actuated when the ball passes through the opening.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Carl W. White 2,450,125 9/1948 Dunfee....'. 273/181 R 1017 Locust St., Kansas City, Mo. 64106 2,895,737 7/1959 Blees 273/181 F X [21] Appl. No. 50,133 3,411,788 11/1968 Blanding 273/184 R X [22] Filed June 26, 1970 3,466,049 9/1969 Fox et a1. 273/181 A X [45] .Patented Dec. 14, 1971 3,558,140 1/1971 Romeo 273/181 A Primary Examiner-George J. Marlo 54] cou mc TARGET INCLUDING FREELY Mower-Alfred Fuchs HANGING SHEETS AND BALL-COLLECTING n s ABSTRACT: A game played with a golf ball for practice to ing g crease the accuracy in direction of the player in hitting the [52] 0.8. CI 273/185 R, ball, comprising a vertical target which may be made of 273/181 A, 273/102.1 B, 273/l02.4, 273/105, olyvinyl chloride closed-cell sponge sheet material that is 273/D1G. 5 shock absorbent and from which there will be no rebound of [51 Int. Cl ..A63b 69/36, the ball, the ball falling dead downwardly along the surface of A A 1 4 the target upon striking the target. A detachable return run- [50] Field of Search .1 273/ 181, way for the ball, made of the same material to prevent any 182, 2.4, 1 1 5 bouncing of the ball upon dropping into the runway, is provided at the lower end of the target, inclined toward a recepta- [56] References Cmd cle for the ball. The target may be defined by three freely UNITED STATES PATENTS hanging detachable sheets, the center one of which has an 1,043,308 11/1912 Everson 273/182 R Opening representing a golf p. and has foldable frame to 2 034 34 3 193 wagnerm 273/1g J permit ready transportation of the target from place to place. 2379. 3 7 1945 Smith 273/1 2 A A signal is actuated when the ball passes through the opening.

, 1 5' 2 4 4 1 l5 Mun-i -I-1 I vIPJN-II-W' i /o i i 14 E II 1 l "11 1 1 L l l I 1 g 1 I 11 H 1 I h 4 |I l i p i 1: so i I Jf'i 1 1 'l' 1 1 1 1 /4- [1J 1' .1, 1 1 1 1 1' 1 I l /8 1, 1 I r"-/0 ,1 2 I 1 24 I T 4 i 1 i 27 a l 1 I I 2? I l l i l1 a I PATENTED UEB14|97I SHEET 1 OF 2 INVHNTOR. CARL W WHITE A TTORNEY PATENTED DEC] 4191! SHEET 2 BF 2 IO l F i g. 6' M INVENTOR CARL W WHITE F i g. 2 Y

ATTORNEY GOLFING TARGET INCLUDING FREELY HANGING SHEETS AND BALL-COLLECTING RECEPTACLE It is a purpose of my invention to provide a golf ball game which is adapted to serve as means for increasing the accuracy of a player, at least as far as the direction in which a ball travels is driven, or otherwise hit, by a golf club swung by the player. The game comprises a vertically arranged target which is divided into three areas, a narrow central area and two wider side areas, and to provide such scoring for the engagement of the ball against the different areas of the target that the narrow central area will provide the lowest count and the wide side areas a higher count. Thus, a player driving the ball into contact with the narrow central area will get a lower total score than one who drives the ball into contact with either of the side areas, which would indicate either a hook" or slice."

In order that the ball will be kept within bounds and return to a container to which access can only be had by coin-controlled means, the target is made of a material which is shock absorbent. Preferably closed-cell plastic sheet material is used, such as the material made by Uniroyal known as Ensolite, this being a closed-cell plastic sheet of a modified polyvinyl chloride material.

In order to provide means for indicating extreme accuracy in hitting the ball toward the target, an opening is provided representing golf cup which is of approximately the diameter of a standard golf course cup, and is provided with means to operate a signal to indicate the ball has entered a pocket back of such an opening. The ball would have to be retrieved from the pocket manually and, if desired, a special award could be provided for accomplishing this feat.

Preferably my improved target comprises a foldable frame upon which the shock-absorbent sheet material is mounted, the target preferably being hung from the top of the frame so that the sheet material is readily detachable from the frame, and to provide a trough for receiving the balls that are hit against the target, which is detachable from the frame for simplifying the moving of the apparatus from place to place by detachment of the trough therefrom, as well as the target sheet, so that the frame can be folded after these parts are removed.

More specifically my invention includes a target of cellular plastic sheet material suspended in the above-referred-to manner, the target being of such a shock-absorbent character that there will be no rebound of the ball from the target when it strikes the same, the ball dropping dead down the face of the material into a trough which trough is made up of an angular piece of such sheet shock-absorbent material with one leg thereof in engagement of the target sheet to form a U-shaped trough therewith.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear as the description of the drawings proceeds. I desire to have it understood, however, that I do not intend to limit myself to the particular details shown or described except as defined in the claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of my improved golf ball game.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation thereof and showing a tee in relation thereto.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 33 of FIG. I on an enlarged scale.

FIG. 4 is a similar view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a similar view taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a similar view taken on the line 6--6 ofFlG. 1.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged detailed fragmentary view showing the detachable mounting of the trough in end elevation, as viewed substantially from the line 77 in FIG. I, and

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic face view of the target, ball return runways and ball receptacle.

Referring in detail to the drawings, in FIG. I the target forming the principal feature of my golf ball game is shown in front face view as having a central narrow area 10 and a pair of wider side areas 11 which may be made so as to be clearly distinguishable to the viewer by providing different colors for the surfaces of the material of section 10 and sections 11. Thus, the section 10 could be made with a light green surface and the sections 11 of a darker green surface. The target material with which the ball engages is made of a closed-cell plastic material which is flexible and which is made of expanded modified polyvinyl chloride, such as the material sold under the name Ensolite by Uniroyal. The material is of such a character that it can be hung from a support and be otherwise free to hang from its upper end edge without any waves or wrinkles therein.

My improved game has the target material mounted on a frame which is made up of a central section and a pair of side sections. The central section has an upper horizontal frame member 12 and a lower horizontal frame member 13 which are connected together by vertical frame members 14. Each of the side sections of the frame has an upper transverse frame member 15, a lower transverse frame member 16, and the vertical frame members 17 and 18, the frame members l7 being adjacent the frame members 14 and being connected therewith by hinges 19 (see FIG. 5). The frame members 12 and 15 are angular in cross section, the upstanding leg 20 of each of said frame members being adapted to be engaged by hooks 21 along the top edge of the plastic cellular sheet material 22 forming the target. The material of the target 22 is of such a character that the hooks 21 can be attached thereto by suitable adhesive. A receptacle 23 is provided for the balls to which they are directed by runways 24 that are inclined toward the receptacle from the remote side edges of the side sections 11 of the target.

The ends of the runways 24 at the receptacle 23 rest on the supporting surface for the frame members I3 and 16, while the raised ends thereof are mounted on the vertical frame members 18 by means of a bracket 25 which has an upwardly extending portion 26 extending through the outwardly directed midportion 27 of a bracket 28 secured to each end wall 29 of the runways 24. The runways are of a troughlike character and are made of a backing sheet 30 which has an upstanding leg 31 and a horizontal leg 32 in which is mounted the material forming two of the walls of the troughlike runway. Said material is preferably of the same character as that of the target 22 and has a vertical leg portion 33 engaging with and secured to the leg 31 of the backing member by suitable adhesive, a horizontal leg portion 34 which is similarly secured to the portion 32 of the backing member and said leg 34 has an end edge 35 engaging with the front face of the target 22 to complete the U-shaped cross section of the trough of the runway.

It will be obvious that a ball traveling down the front surface of the target 22 will drop into the runway no matter where along the section 10 or the sections II thereof the ball will engage the target. The runway 24 is back of the receptacle 23 as will be obvious from FIG. 2, and a suitable opening is provided in the runway leading into the receptacle 23 which receptacle may be provided with suitable coin control means for access thereto.

The target is provided with an opening 36 which is in an elevated position in the middle of the narrow central zone 10 of the target and secured to the back face of the target 22 is a receptacle 37 made of the same material as the target 22. Engaging the vertical wall of the receptacle is a plate 38 which engages an actuating member 39 of a signal member such as the bell 40 which is mounted on a suitable crossmember 41 extending between the pair of frame members 14.

The apparatus above described may be mounted on a suitable supporting surface 42 which may be provided with a tee 43 upon which the ball 44 may be placed at a suitable distance from the target 22. In playing the game the ball is placed on the tee and driven by a suitable golf club, such as the driver or any of several iron clubs, for practicing therewith, with the tee 43 movable to a proper position for the use of the particular golf club with which it is desired to practice. The ball upon striking the target 22 will either engage an area 10 thereof or an area 11 thereof. For example, in order to make the scoring, so that it will indicate the accuracy of the player in a similar manner to the game of golf, the engagement of the ball with the area can count one, while the engagement of the ball with the area 11 counts two, the lowest score being the best in golf. While there is a possibility that a ball will enter the opening 36, this is relatively remote and would not be involved in the usual scoring so if the ball enters the opening 36 and the signal 40 is actuated the player could be given a special award, as is often the case for obtaining a hole in one in a regular golf game. By providing a coin-controlled means for access to the ball receptacle 23, such coin-controlled means being of any well-known character, the game can become a coin-controlled apparatus, the number of balls to be retrieved from the receptacle for the amount of one of the coins being determinable by the operator.

By providing the target of the closed-cell plastic sheet material that is shock absorbent and making the walls of the runway of the same material, the ball will not rebound from the target but will fall straight down the forward face thereof into the return runway without any bouncing thereof, thus assuring that the ball will enter the runway and travel to the receptacle 23. Furthermore, due to the character of the material used, not only will rebound of the ball be avoided but the noise of engagement of the ball with the target will be greatly reduced. By providing for separate areas on the target the use of the apparatus can be made into a game that is interesting enough that it will induce a golfer to practice by using the apparatus in competition with other golfers.

What I claim is:

1. Golf ball game apparatus comprising a plurality of sideby-side vertically elongated frame sections connected to collectively form a vertically extending frame, a sheet of flexible shock-absorbent sheet material mounted on each of said frame sections to each hang freely in vertical position from the top end thereof, each of said sheets being substantially coextensive with the frame section on which it is mounted, said sheets collectively forming a vertically extending target having an area substantially coextensive with said frame, means cooperating with said sheets to provide ball return runways adjacent the lower portion of said target on the front face thereof, and a ball receptacle, said runways being disposed to direct a ball entering said runways into said receptacle.

2. Golf ball game apparatus claimed in claim 1 in which the means providing said ball return runways each comprises backing means having an upstanding leg forwardly spaced from said target and a leg extending therefrom to the front face of said target and flexible shock-abosorbent sheet material mounted thereon to form a troughlike member in cooperation with said target.

3. Golf ball game apparatus claimed in claim I in which said target is provided with means defining a narrow central rectangular area extending from top to bottom thereof and rectangular areas much wider than said central area extending from top to bottom thereof on each side of said central area, said central area having an opening therein in an elevated location.

4. Golf ball game apparatus claimed in claim 1 in which said means for mounting said sheets of flexible shock-absorbent sheet material on said frame sections comprises hooks on said sheets detachably engaging top crossmembers on said frame sections, and said means that provides said ball return runways are detachably mounted on said supporting means by brackets on said runways engaging brackets on vertical frame members on said frames.

5. Golf ball game apparatus claimed in claim 1 in which said receptacle is located at the bottom of said target centrally and adjacent the front face thereof and said ball return runways extend from the opposite side edges of said target along the front face thereof to said receptacle and incline downwardly toward said receptacle.

6. Golf ball game apparatus claimed in claim 1 in which said target and said means providing said ball return runways are polyvinyl chloride close d-cell sponge sheet material. 

1. Golf ball game apparatus comprising a plurality of side-byside vertically elongated frame sections connected to collectively form a vertically extending frame, a sheet of flexible shock-absorbent sheet material mounted on each of said frame sections to each hang freely in vertical position from the top end thereof, each of said sheets being suBstantially coextensive with the frame section on which it is mounted, said sheets collectively forming a vertically extending target having an area substantially coextensive with said frame, means cooperating with said sheets to provide ball return runways adjacent the lower portion of said target on the front face thereof, and a ball receptacle, said runways being disposed to direct a ball entering said runways into said receptacle.
 2. Golf ball game apparatus claimed in claim 1 in which the means providing said ball return runways each comprises backing means having an upstanding leg forwardly spaced from said target and a leg extending therefrom to the front face of said target and flexible shock-abosorbent sheet material mounted thereon to form a troughlike member in cooperation with said target.
 3. Golf ball game apparatus claimed in claim 1 in which said target is provided with means defining a narrow central rectangular area extending from top to bottom thereof and rectangular areas much wider than said central area extending from top to bottom thereof on each side of said central area, said central area having an opening therein in an elevated location.
 4. Golf ball game apparatus claimed in claim 1 in which said means for mounting said sheets of flexible shock-absorbent sheet material on said frame sections comprises hooks on said sheets detachably engaging top crossmembers on said frame sections, and said means that provides said ball return runways are detachably mounted on said supporting means by brackets on said runways engaging brackets on vertical frame members on said frames.
 5. Golf ball game apparatus claimed in claim 1 in which said receptacle is located at the bottom of said target centrally and adjacent the front face thereof and said ball return runways extend from the opposite side edges of said target along the front face thereof to said receptacle and incline downwardly toward said receptacle.
 6. Golf ball game apparatus claimed in claim 1 in which said target and said means providing said ball return runways are polyvinyl chloride closed-cell sponge sheet material. 